PowerPoint gets a bad rap sometimes. There are entire sites dedicated to PowerPoint bashing. I may be in the minority but I am a huge fan of PowerPoint. Ever since one of my friends in school showed me how she uses it as a tool to create posters I was hooked! If you’re not an Illustrator or Photoshop pro – never fear! PowerPoint is here! You need to get comfy with seeing it in a new way so watch a quick video tutorial on how to use its drawing tools and how to adjust paper size and orientation. There are tons on YouTube.

1. Create a certificate – the very first certificate template created by myself for this site was done in PowerPoint! Ah happy memories! Use the drawing tools to create an interesting border or find some online and insert them in. Change colors and fonts, add a seal and you’re done! All you need to find is that special someone to gift it to!

2. I also use it on a regular basis to conduct workshops. It’s a easy way to transfer large amounts of information in bullet points on a PowerPoint presentation slide. It engages the participants and helps them take down important notes.

3. Create a slide show – no need to change settings here. Just add music, include photos and maybe even video links and you will have a moving and touching slide show for your best friends bridal shower or graduation party. Warning: this can take time. I usually start weeks in advance. Try to include comments from friends and family – especially those who cannot make it. If a particular family member has passed on even including a picture of them to remind the person how proud they would have been of her can sometimes be a nice touch – just use your discretion on this one!

4. Party banner – use each slide to create a single letter or an entire banner. Download a cool looking font and some pretty free clip art or vector graphics and you’re all set for a personalized banner that everyone will be asking you about. Stick a picture of the special person in there as a goofy touch!

5. Create a poster! Change the paper size to whatever your local printer says is it’s poster size and start including photos, text boxes (the speech bubble tools are great for this!) and call outs. You can add boxes to hold your images and change the “fill” and “outline” to make it really stand out.

Now you know why I LOVE and still use PowerPoint. Do you have any interesting and creative ways to use PowerPoint? Leave us a comment and share with us your PowerPoint skills.